Monthly Archives: August 2013

Thursday y’all, almost the weekend!! Do you have any big weekend plans? I’m heading to Celebrate Freedom, a free Christian concert in ATL where tons of my favorite Christian artists will be performing. I’m taking 3 of my brothers and 1 of my sisters, so it’ll be a fun sibling bonding day!!

I wanted to share with you a tutorial for one of my newest projects, and that is creating an herbal body oil.

For the most basic version of this project you only need 2 ingredients, and that is some sort of vegetable oil and an essential oil. But… if you want to get fancy you can use a variety of skin conditioning oils, multiple essential oils, and even herbal infused oils.

I was running low on ingredients, so the body oil I made was pretty basic, but I love it!!

I used sunflower oil for my base. Sunflower oil is full of antioxidants and vitamin A. It can help treat sun damaged skin and prevent further damage. It is a good anti aging oil. Another reason I chose sunflower oil is because it is a very light oil and soaks into skin quickly, so I don’t feel greasy after applying it.

Some other great oils to use–

Coconut Oil is probably my favorite oil to use, I just happened to be running low and didn’t have enough. It is also light and soaks into the skin quickly. It is fatty oil that nourishes and conditions the skin, locking in moisture. Coconut oil is antibacterial and has been known to clear acne, rashes, and other skin conditions. As an added bonus, it smells great!!

Olive Oil is another oil I have used. For REALLY dry skin this oil is definitely the best choice. It is deeply moisturizing and leaves skin very supple and soft. The only downside to this oil is that in my experience it takes a little longer to absorb into the skin, making it feel greasier for longer. I recommend either mixing olive oil with a lighter oil, or using it at night so it soaks in while you sleep.

Jojoba oil from what I understand is actually a liquid wax. Jojoba is fantastic for skin care!! It is one of the closest oils to the oil your skin naturally produces, making it very easy to absorb into the skin. Jojoba is very light, very moisturizing, totally non-greasy, and wonderful for acne prone skin because it won’t clog the pores. The only downside is this oil is a tad pricier.

Sweet almond oil is another very popular oil for this use, but I haven’t used it myself so I can’t give you my personal experience.

Okay, so there are some good base oils, you can use just 1 of these or create your own combination. Don’t be afraid to go to your local health food store and check out all the different skin care oils they have. Research the properties of each oil to create a blend that is perfect for YOUR skin!!

As I said, I chose sunflower oil for my body oil. I filled my container with this oil and then brought out the “active ingredient” of this recipe… the essential oils!!

This is the part where you can really personalize this recipe to your specific skin care needs. Please remember when adding essential oils that often less is more. I have really had to train myself to slowww downnn with the dropper and remember how potent these oils are!! The scent should be faint, not overwhelming.

To my oil I added lavender, rose absolute (rose blended with jojoba), ylang ylang, and orange. I chose these oils for a few reasons. Lavender and rose in particular are excellent skin care oils. Lavender is antibacterial making it a good acne busting oil, and it also soothes and moisturizes dry skin. Rose is good oil for refining and toning skin texture.

All 4 of the oils are known for being relaxing and mood boosting. I use this oil before I go to bed each night, so I thought something that would make me sleepy and happy was probably a winner!!

For around 3oz of oil I used 5-10 drops of each oil. I made the mistake of not writing down the exact number of drops… I just sniffed after each drop until it smelled right. Oops!! Next time I’ll try to keep better track.

You can use so many different essential oils for this recipe. Some of my recommendations-

All you need to do to use your body oil is massage onto clean skin, applying in small areas and being sure to work the oil in all the way.

I apply my oil at night after my shower or bath. That way my pores are still open from the heat and are ready to absorb the oil. I also don’t dry my skin 100% because a little dampness makes it easier to blend and smooth the oil.

Where you use the oil is up to you. Some people just use the oil as a face moisturizer or on particularly dry areas. I massage the oil over my entire body and just over the few days I have used it my skin has gotten softer and the seemingly permanent heat rash on my chest (gotta love the Georgia heat and humidity) is finally clearing up!

Let me know if you try this recipe and what essential oils you used!!

**Side note- I regularly visit the dollar store to check out their containers and organizing products and a few months ago I scored several little tupperware-like containers that were like 2-3oz an only $1 for a 4-pack!! I use these containers for all my personal products. I definitely recommend you check out your local dollar store because you never know what you’ll find!!**

I hope your week is getting off to a great start. Mine started with my 3 year old brother at my door asking for oil because his tummy hurt. Whenever he has a stomach ache I apply peppermint oil diluted in some coconut oil to his stomach and it makes him feel better. He loves asking me to make him “smell like a candy cane.” 🙂

After helping him out, I spent some time in the word. This morning was only 61 degrees, absolutely incredible for Georgia in August!! So of course I grabbed a hoodie and spent my quiet time on the front porch swing reading through 1 Corinthians and journaling. I’m reading through all of Paul’s letters for the 1387162397th time (quite literally) and I love how with each time I re-read them there are more and more truths about the gospel that I hadn’t even noticed before. It’s amazing!!

The rest of my morning has been busy with getting an order ready to ship and checking up on my Etsy shop. And drinking my coffee with almond milk (delish, you should try it!). And totally not getting distracted by Pinterest. Totally.

So, I’m going to need your help with something. I need to change the name of my blog as well as my Etsy shop. I would like the names to be the same. I’m wondering if maybe you, my lovely readers, could help!!

I need a name that encompasses all that my blog is evolving into- a mash up of natural bath & body tutorials, essential oil info, as well as personal posts about my day to day life and equestrian pursuits & devotional posts which I plan on incorporating more of.

See why I’m having trouble coming up with something?

Right now I’m thinking about something like “Carolyn Creates” or “Carolyn’s Creations” to incorporate my first name as well as what I do, and it would make a good Etsy shop name.

I have also thought about using a locational term in my title, such as something with the word “peach” since I am located in Georgia. And I just like the word peach. It’s just… peachy.

Okay. Enough of my rambling. I’m back to work, you guys think up a great name for me, k? Catch up with ya later…

Store bought sugar scrubs can be soooo expensive and are full of yucky chemicals that I do NOT want to be rubbing into my skin!! The natural version is very easy to make and definitely more affordable.

Sugar scrubs only require 2 ingredients!! How easy is that?? All you need to create your very own sugar scrub is some sugar and some oil.

What kind of sugar you use is up to you. I find white sugar makes a “scrubbier” scrub while brown sugar is a bit more gentle. That said, I have used white sugar on my face and didn’t find it to be too rough.

What oil you use is also optional. There are so many options!! I usually use coconut or olive oil. Sweet almond oil is also a popular choice, although I haven’t tried it myself. I have to say, coconut oil has been my favorite. I need to do a post on coconut oil soon. It’s magical stuff, I’m telling ya!! I personally prefer it in scrubs because it is a little lighter than olive oil and not so thick and greasy. That’s just me though.

Once you have chosen your sugar and oil, measure equal amounts of each and blend together. You can use the scrub as is, but I like to scent mine with essential oils.

I usually like to use citrus essential oils because they are great for improving skin tone, just be careful not to use a citrus scrub before spending time in the sun! Some citrus oils can increase photo-toxicity.

Here are some of my favorite blends-

Grapefruit-Lime-Tangerine

Lavender-Orange

Lavender-Peppermint

Peppermint-Rosemary

Ylang Ylang-Lavender-Orange

Play with the oils until you find a scent you love!!

Once you have mixed your scrub, store in a clean airtight glass jar. Using the scrub is easy! I just bring my scrub in the shower with me and I let my apple cider vinegar rinse sit on my hair for a bit while I turn the water off and massage the scrub into my skin. Work the scrub into small areas, sloughing off the dead skin. Then I rinse off with warm water to reveal silky skin that has been polished by the sugar as well as moisturized by the oil. Voila!!

Let me know what essential oil combination you tried and how your scrub worked for you!!

Click here to see all the 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oils Young Living has to offer.

Today has been a soaping day for me. I am trying a couple new recipes for the fall festival booth I am doing. Today I created a “double mint” soap. I used a basic soap recipe and added peppermint and spearmint essential oil as well as a few handfuls of oats for a little texture. The batch is currently hardening in the mold and will be ready to take out and cut in the morning. It smells heavenly! I’m really excited to see how it turns out.

Tomorrow I’m going to try a lemon herb soap. Same basic recipe as the double mint soap, but with lemon essential oil, lemon zest, and crushed dried basil. In theory it sounds good so I’m hoping it will turn out just as good as I’m dreaming!

I’m trying to think of some other soap recipe ideas to try. Do you have any suggestions??

p.s.- I haven’t forgotten about the sugar scrub recipe. It’s on the way, I promise!!

p.s.s.- I added some new stuff to my etsy shop <—- do me a favor and check it out, favorite it, share it with your friends, post it on your facebook… yeah this is shameless self promotion. After all, this is MY blog! 😉

Hey y’all! I’ve been MIA for a little while… it has been a wild past couple weeks. My younger brother was bitten by a copperhead a week and a half ago and it seems like life has been going non-stop since then! Thankfully he is okay and appears to be recovering just fine, but it was quite the scare.

I am also preparing to do a booth at a local fall festival with my soap and bath and body products next month. I’m really excited about that but also a little stressed because I have no idea how much inventory to bring! It’ll be a good experience though so I’m looking forward to it.

Riding lessons are also picking up now that school has started which is GREAT but requires me to split my brain a bit between crafting and horses, something I’m still learning how to do!

When I get the overwhelmed I find the best thing I can do is take a little time to clear my head and jump back in refreshed, rather than just try to push through it. This is hard for me because I feel like I’m just slacking off, but in reality I am so much more productive when I take the time I need. As an introvert this is especially important to me.

One of my favorite ways to relax and clear my head is soaking in the bath. Using essential oils I create different aromatherapy blends that can relax my mind, soothe sore muscles (great for when I have had lots of lessons and have been working outside!), or even energize me!

The thing with using essential oils in the bath is you want to blend the oils with another substance before putting them in hot water because they have a tendency to just vaporize. One of the easiest and most cost effective ways to do this is by creating bath salts.

[photo cred- RJ Stonecipher]

Bath salts are soooo easy and so rewarding to make. You can be so creative with

them. The salts detoxify your body, gently soften and purify your skin, and soothe achy muscles. Does it get any better than that?! I am going to give you a base recipe I use, but you can add all sorts of different ingredients to create blend that is entirely your own.

The 3 main ingredients I use are:

Epsom Salts

Sea Salt

& Baking Soda

You can search online for different types of salts that can be added that are more extravagant than sea salt and epsom salt, but these ingredients are a good place to start! You can also add different types of clays for added detoxifying and skin purifying benefits.

I usually fill a 4oz jar about 2/3 of the way full with epsom salts and then top off with sea salt and baking soda. I add a teaspoon or so of liquid glycerin, and also some

moisturizing oils. I usually use jojoba oil as a moisturizing oil and add about a teaspoon, but you can pick which oil (if any) you would like to add and play with the amounts until you find the right blend for you.

The best part is deciding on your essential oils and blending them with the salts.

Here are a few blends I really like-

Relaxing

Lavender, Orange, Rose, Ylang Ylang, Tangerine, & Patchouli

Energizing

Peppermint, Lemon, Rosemary, Grapefruit, Clary Sage

Decongestant (great for cold and flu season!)

Peppermint, eucalyptus, rosemary, tea tree, lemon, spearmint

Play with these blends until you find a scent you like. You don’t necessarily have to use all the oils I suggested in each blend, or you can even add others that you think would make the blend even better!

If you are looking for essential oils to use in this recipe, please click here to purchase 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oils.

Thanks for reading!! Next time we’ll move away from salt and talk sugar scrubs!!